Good start for Adams

By Malcolm Pein

12:01AM BST 11 Jul 2005

Michael Adams had the best possible start to the Sparkassen Chess Meeting as he outplayed Veselin Topalov the top seed and the form player of 2005 in the first round. Adams lost the same opponent at Linares and Sofia earlier this year.

Adams played white against the solid Petroff Defence and persistent pressure eventually forced the win of a pawn. Topalov resisted into a double bishop endgame but once Adams created an outside passed pawn the result was never in doubt and the England number one finished off the game on the 52nd move.

Naiditsch 1-0 Sutovsky, Sicilian Sveshnikov, 28

Leko 1-0 van Wely, Sicilian Rossolimo, 55

Kramnik draw Svidler, Sicilian Kan, 25

Nielsen 1-0 Bacrot, Slav Defence, 36

Adams 1-0 Topalov, Petroff's Defence, 55

Adams always the edge after 10.Qh5 attacks h7 and d5 thus forcing the weakening move 10...f5; Black's bishops are never as active as White's and he has problems contesting the only open file because of a variety of tactical points. Eventually f5 falls.

c) 20.Rxb7 Bh2+ 21.Kxh2 Qxb7 22.Re6 gives some compensation but there is no need to sacrifice

d) Not 24.Bxh6 f4

e) 26.Qf4 Adams keeps queens on because his pieces are more active and he has attacking chances

f) 28.f3! threatens g4

g) 36.Bb8! is the decisive move making an outside passed pawn if 36...Bxc3 37.Bxa7

h) In the final position 55...Ba6 is met by 56.f4 followed by f5+ and Kg3-f4 when White will force the king through to e5. If Black tries to break up the f5 and g4 pawns with h6-h5 White takes and creates two outside passed pawns